Our favourites’ favourites: Sports celebrities pick their top female athletes

SERENA WILLIAMS, tennis player

“She was dominant when she was young, dominant in her 20s, dominant after she had a baby, and she will be dominant tomorrow. She has to be mentioned with and compared to all the greatest athletes of all time, men included.” — Masai Ujiri, Raptors president

CHRISTINE SINCLAIR, soccer player

“Having two daughters of my own that grew up playing soccer, I can appreciate her quiet leadership, her strength, her consistency and her ability to make the whole team better, being a great leader, is a great example for my daughters and for women in sports.” — Mike Weir, former Masters champion

AMANDA NUNES, UFC fighter

“She’s a tremenous athlete, two-belt holder in two different weight classes. Her energy, her passion, her enthusiasm ... she just seems like a wonderful person and very easy person to cheer for.” — Joey Votto, Reds first baseman

BROOKE HENDERSON, golfer

“There are plenty of great female athletes. It was pretty cool at the Olympics when I was there and getting to watch a lot of the great Canadian female athletes, whether it was figure skating, curling. But Brooke Henderson is a pretty good golfer. Watching golf is a good off-season hobby and she’s obviously done tremendous things at her age. She’s great to watch.” — John Tavares, Maple Leafs centre

BECKIE SCOTT, former cross-country skier and current Chair of the WADA Athlete Committee

“She embodies not only everything I aspired to be as an athlete (fierce, fair and formidable) but more importantly she has transcended in so many ways what being a champion on the field of play means. She has taken fair play to a level very few have the courage to explore with her work in anti-doping, she gives back in the most respectful and sustainable ways (with Spirit North) and is a beautiful human being in all aspects. I admired her in sport and admire her even more in life. Basically she’s a badass. — Clara Hughes, former Olympic cyclist and speed skater

CANDICE BAGAN, Special Olympics swimmer

“Candice was just selected to be part of Special Olympics Team Canada and she is heading to Abu Dhabi to compete in the World Games on March 14. Candice has been part of Special Olympics for 20 years, but she recently made some massive life changes which included intense focus on her training in order to make the World Games team for the first time at 38.

“Her dedication reminds me how powerful a positive mindset is, and that age is really just a number — we can all chose to take a challenge to the next level at any time if we truly set our mind to it.” — Penny Oleksiak, Olympic swimmer